Morning Beats

CBN, government, financial institutions promise to tackle MSMEs’ challenges

The Federal Government, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and other financial institutions in the country yesterday in Abuja said challenges confronting Micro, Small and MediumGuardian

Stock market’s indices dip further by 0.5%

Equity transactions sustained sliding profile for the fifth consecutive trading sessions, occasioned by heavy profit taking, causing the All-Share Index (ASI) to plummet further by 0.5 per cent.Guardian

‘Why Nigerians must insist on transparent oil licensing process

A report conducted by the Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI) in 2017, has noted that the weakest link in the nation’s oil and gas industry, especially in terms of value addition, is in the area of licensing.Guardian

FIRS freezes 6,772 accounts, generates N3.5 trillion

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has said it generated N3.5 trillion for Federal Government between the months of January and September 2018.Guardian

Nigeria now haven for ‘dirty fuels’ as regulations fail

Nigeria has continued to remain a home for fuels with very high sulphur contents (dirty fuels), and the presumed ban on such products happens not to be having any bite.Guardian

NCC woos investors with 30 per cent tax reduction

Sector attracts $5b quarterly FDI Nigeria's telecoms sector regulator,  the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said prospective investors into the telecoms sector would only need to pay 30 per cent of income tax, among other mouth-watering incentives rolled out by the Federal Government.The Nation

MTN repatriation: NSE reviews Stanbic IBTC, Diamond Bank governance

The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and other stakeholders have launched an engagement process to review the compliance of Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc and Diamond Bank Plc to high-level corporate governance standards expected of top-rated quoted companies.The Nation

AfDB approves $15m equity fund for SMEs

The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank has approved a $15 million equity investment in Verod Capital Growth Fund III, a private equity fund that will make investments in high growth middle market companies in Anglophone West Africa including Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone and the Gambia.Guardian

Pension asset hits N8.5tr

Nigeria's pension assets are currently worth over N8.5trillion, the Acting Director General, National Pension Commission (PenCom), Hajia Aisha Dahir-Umar, has said.The Nation

DMO assures on Nigeria’s borrowing from China

‘No reason to panic’ The Debt Management Office (DMO) has assured the public that Nigeria’s public debt is being managed under statutory provisions and international best practice, and there is no risk of default on any loan, including the Chinese loans.The Nation

Insurance companies face hostile takeovers by foreign investors

Insurance industry operators are now faced with fears of hostile take-overs at peanut with full implementation of the Tier Based Minimum Solvency Capital, TBMSC, next month.

Naira appreciates to N363.07/$ in I&E window

THE Naira, yesterday, appreciated to N363.07 per dollar in the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window even as the volume of dollars traded dropped by 62 percent.

PenCom recovers N14.38bn unremitted pensions from employers

The National Pension Commission says it has recovered N14.38bn from employers who had been deducting the pension contributions of their employees but refused to remit the funds into the workers’ Retirement Savings Accounts with their respective Pension Fund Administrators.Punch

FG gives states conditions for $2.68bn Paris Club refund

The Federal Government on Tuesday said it had approved the sum of $2.68bn as final payment to states for the Paris Club Refund.Punch

$8.1bn refund: NCC wants amicable resolution with MTN

The Nigerian Communications Commission says it will strive to ensure that there is an amicable resolution between the government and the MTN Group as the two parties negotiate the $10bn dispute.Punch